The expectations placed on medical instruments for micro-invasive procedures are constantly increasing. Medical instruments having a tool with a grasping or cutting function at the distal end, where the tool is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the shaft, are already widely available in many forms. The grasping or cutting function and the rotation of the tool can be controlled, for example, by a single transmission rod, which transmits longitudinal forces and torques. Moreover, in recent times, the shaft can be angled proximally of the tool, and, in order to control this angle, a second transmission element can be provided in the shaft of the medical instrument, for example a second transmission rod.
In the case of re-usable medical instruments, it is necessary that they should be able to be dismantled as far as possible for cleaning. In particular, in many medical instruments, the manipulation device is separable from the proximal end of the shaft. For example, a locking connection between the proximal end of the shaft or outer shaft, on the one hand, and the manipulation device, on the other hand, can be unlocked by applying manual pressure to an unlocking button or by activating another actuation device. In the case of medical instruments produced by the applicant and sold under the name “Clickline”, when the shaft is pulled distally out of the manipulation device, the proximal end of the transmission rod, and a lever of the retaining device coupled thereto, reach positions in which they are no longer coupled to each other. The coupling between the proximal end of the transmission rod and the manipulation device, or a lever on the manipulation device, is therefore releasable when the coupling between the proximal end of the shaft and the manipulation device is released.
However, the releasability or separability of the proximal ends of the outer shaft and of the transmission rod, on the one hand, from the manipulation device, on the other hand, as known from “Clickline” products, cannot be transferred, or cannot be easily transferred, to many other medical instruments. An alternative is to provide a separate actuation device for each coupling. In the case of a medical instrument with an outer shaft and with two transmission rods or other transmission devices, three actuation devices therefore have to be provided, the manual activation of these actuation devices releasing a respective coupling between the proximal end of the outer shaft or of a transmission rod, on the one hand, and the manipulation device, on the other hand.